Ole Miss MLB Patrick Willis

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I’ve been rooting hard for the Redskins to trade down to get Ole’ Miss MLB Patrick Willis for awhile now. I know a lot of people know that he is projected to be the first linebacker taken in the draft, somewhere in the middle of the first round. But, I think a lot of people do not know his “story;” one that is very inspirational.

In short, Patrick Willis was abandoned by his mother when he was a small child and left in his father’s care. By age 6, Willis was cooking breakfast for his younger siblings. By age 10, Willis was picking cotton to pay the electric bills. Patrick’s father was an alcoholic who abused Patrick and his siblings until police and social workers removed Patrick and his siblings and placed them in foster care. Last year, Patrick’s brother, Detris, whom Willis helped raise, died in a freak swimming accident.

But, despite the personal tragedies in his life, Willis has gone on to become the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, the Dick Butkus Award winner for the nation’s top college linebacker, a First Team All-SEC player, and a First-Team AP All-American. He’s a hard-hitting Mike linebacker who is a born leader on the field and is a role model off of it. Although he is not blazing fast (4.65 40-time), he has excellent instincts and is very stout against the run and has all of the tools to excel in coverage.

In short, IMHO, Patrick Willis is precisely the kind of player we want. He is versatile, has great instincts, is a vocal leader, likes to play the role of "enforcer" in hitting opponents, is a model citizen and team player, and plays at a position of need. Although help along the D-line is a high priority, I think our best move would be to trade down to grab Willis and use the additional draft pick to draft someone at safety or along the D-line.

Here are some links about the guy.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegefoo...DB_OEM_ID=2600
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings...php?pyid=17257
http://www.footballsfuture.com/2007/...ck_willis.html
http://football.about.com/od/nflplay...rickwillis.htm
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/...r%3fid%3d11281